RESTORE
This chapter from the BFG Handbook (Christian Edition of the Tao Te Ching) presents the gospel through a new "Expression" of God’s Love to RESTORE the Truth.
Chapter 43 from the BFG Handbook (Christian Edition of the Tao Te Ching) presents the gospel through a new “Expression” of God’s Love to RESTORE people to the Truth.
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Chapter 43:Presence of the Holy Spirit
The softest things of the world 1
Overcome the hardest things of the world
The formless Spirit which has no substance 2
Enters the body which has no opening
That is how I know the advantage of non-interfering action 3
The silent teaching without words 3
The benefits of actions without interfering
This is the unmatched Way understood by few 4
Gentle Strength That Wears Down Stone
“The softest things of the world
Overcome the hardest things of the world”
Chapter 43 of the Christian edition of the Tao Te Ching reflects on the paradoxical power of gentleness and the profound influence of God’s invisible presence. The softest elements of the world, such as water, can overcome the hardest materials, like stone. This reflects the scriptural truth that God often uses what appears weak or insignificant to achieve His purposes, confounding human wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:27-29). Similarly, God’s power is perfected in weakness, and His Spirit works through those who humbly rely on Him (2 Corinthians 12:10).
The chapter’s footnotes add a picture from the Psalms. When Israel was thirsty in the desert, God did not shatter the rock with thunder. He opened it, and water poured out for His people.
“who turns the rock into a pool of water…”
Psalm 114:8ESV
That is how God deals with hard hearts too. He does not crush them; He softens them. Through the prophet Ezekiel, He promised a gift that no amount of force could ever give.
“A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
Ezekiel 36:26NRSVue
Jesus lived this. He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, not a war horse. He met insults with silence and nails with forgiveness, and that love broke the hardness of sin and death itself. For a Christian, softness is not weakness. It is strength that has been handed over to God.
“Nonetheless, impossible as it may seem, Jesus proposes a different way of doing things: the way of meekness.”Pope Francis, Gaudete et Exsultate 71
“The Beatitudes depict the countenance of Jesus Christ and portray his charity… they are the paradoxical promises that sustain hope in the midst of tribulations…”Catechism 1717
The family group chat blows up over something your cousin posted. Everyone is typing in capitals, and you have the perfect comeback ready. You also know how this goes: the harder everyone pushes, the deeper everyone digs in. Chapter 43 offers another way: “The softest things of the world overcome the hardest things of the world.” A calm private message, an honest question instead of a jab, a sincere “I am sorry this hurt you” can do what a hundred clever replies never will. Gentleness is not losing. It is how hearts soften.
Try this today: Before you reply to anything heated today, delete the sharpest line and send the gentlest true thing instead.
The Spirit Who Finds a Way In
“The formless Spirit which has no substance
Enters the body which has no opening”
The chapter introduces the concept of God’s formless Spirit entering the body, a truth central to Christian faith. Believers are temples of the Holy Spirit, the unseen yet powerful presence of God dwelling within them (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The Spirit’s work is transformative, penetrating hearts and lives without force, much like the soft water reshaping hard rock.
Why call the Spirit “formless,” with “no substance”? Because He is not a thing we can see, hold or put in a box. He has no body at all. Jesus compared Him to the wind: real and powerful, yet invisible, known by what He does.
“The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
John 3:8NRSVue
And the body “which has no opening”? Think of the disciples on Easter night, hiding behind locked doors, shut in by fear. The risen Jesus came and stood among them anyway. Then He gave them the gift that would live inside them from that day on.
“…he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.””
John 20:22NRSVue
No door of fear, grief or sin is too tightly shut for God’s grace to reach. Yet He never breaks in by force. He comes as a gentle guest and waits for our yes. In Baptism and Confirmation He makes His home in us, and when we do not know how to pray, He prays within us (Romans 8:26).
“Christ is the true temple of God, ‘the place where his glory dwells’; by the grace of God, Christians also become the temples of the Holy Spirit, living stones out of which the Church is built.”Catechism 1197
“The Holy Spirit, the artisan of God’s works, is the master of prayer.”Catechism 741
When the chapter calls the Spirit “formless” and without “substance,” it means He has no body or material form. He is not a vague force but a divine Person, one God with the Father and the Son.
Some days faith feels like an empty room. You go to Mass and feel nothing. You try to pray, and your mind runs to the laundry, the deadline and the text you forgot to answer. It is easy to think God has left the building. Chapter 43 says the opposite. The Spirit has already entered “the body which has no opening.” He lives in you whether you feel Him or not, and He prays in you when you have no words. Your heart is His home, not a hotel He checks out of.
Try this today: Put a hand on your heart for a moment today and pray: “Holy Spirit, You live here. Help me notice You.”
Be Still and Let God Act
“That is how I know the advantage of non-interfering action”
This passage also emphasizes the effectiveness of non-interfering action. God often works through stillness and silence, guiding His people without coercion. As Exodus 14:14 states, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” This principle of quiet trust aligns with Psalm 37:7, encouraging believers to “be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.”
“Non-interfering action” does not mean doing nothing. At the Red Sea, Moses still lifted his staff, and Israel still had to walk through the sea. But the victory belonged to God. Our part is to do what He asks and stop grabbing the outcome out of His hands.
“…“In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling”
Isaiah 30:15ESV
We interfere when we worry, push, manipulate or try to fix people on our own timetable. We cooperate when we pray, do the next right thing and leave room for grace. Mary shows the way. At the Annunciation she did not plan God’s work for Him. She said, “May your word to me be fulfilled” (Luke 1:38), and the Spirit did the impossible.
“…Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.”
Zechariah 4:6ESV
“The revelation of prayer in the economy of salvation teaches us that faith rests on God’s action in history… Christian prayer is cooperation with his providence, his plan of love for men.”Catechism 2738
“…divine providence which with strength and gentleness guides human and cosmic history.”Catechism 395
Your grown son is making choices that scare you. Every phone call turns into advice he did not ask for, and every visit ends with a slammed door. Or maybe it is the job search, and you refresh your email every few minutes as if that could make it ring. Chapter 43 speaks of “the advantage of non-interfering action.” Love does not stop caring. It stops gripping. Say your piece once, then pray more than you push. Do the next right thing, and let God fight the battles you cannot win.
Try this today: Name one situation you keep trying to force, and for one day turn every worry about it into a short prayer.
A Teaching Without Words
“The silent teaching without words
The benefits of actions without interfering”
The silent teaching without words highlights the power of example and the Spirit’s work beyond human effort. Jesus often used parables and actions that required spiritual discernment, as described in Mark 4:11-12. This teaching method allowed those open to God’s truth to understand deeply while others remained unaware.
Long before people listen to what we say, they watch how we live. The way we treat a cashier, speak about an ex, handle a loss or forgive a friend teaches more than any argument. St. John puts it simply.
“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
1 John 3:18ESV
That is “the silent teaching without words,” and it brings “the benefits of actions without interfering.” A quiet witness does not corner people or force a conversation. It shines, and it lets others come closer in their own time, the way Jesus let people follow Him and ask their own questions.
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:16NRSVue
Words still matter. St. Peter tells us to be ready to give the reason for our hope, but to do it “with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15-16). Those words land best when a life has already spoken them.
“Through this wordless witness these Christians stir up irresistible questions in the hearts of those who see how they live… Such a witness is already a silent proclamation of the Good News and a very powerful and effective one.”Saint Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi 21
“…to evangelize is first of all to bear witness, in a simple and direct way, to God revealed by Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit…”Saint Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi 26
At work, the break room turns into a gossip session about the new hire. You do not give a speech. You just change the subject, and later you sit with her at lunch. Weeks go by. Then one day she asks, “Why are you always so kind?” That is “the silent teaching without words.” Nobody was preached at, yet something true was taught. People notice how Christians drive, tip, scroll, post and forgive. Your ordinary day may be the only Gospel some of them ever read.
Try this today: Choose one person today and show them Christ’s kindness without mentioning it, then pray for them by name tonight.
The Way Few Understand
“This is the unmatched Way understood by few”
The chapter ends by calling all of this “the unmatched Way understood by few.” Gentleness that wins, a Spirit no one can see, strength in stillness, teaching without words: by the world’s rules none of it adds up. Jesus said as much.
“For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
Matthew 7:14ESV
Why so few? Not because God hides from anyone; He wants all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). This Way is seen with the heart, and only the Holy Spirit opens that kind of sight. Jesus’ parables reveal the Kingdom to those who come close and lean in, and stay a riddle to those who keep their distance.
“For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”
1 Corinthians 1:25
In the end, this Way is not a technique. It is a Person. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). To walk it is to follow Him, carry the cross with His gentleness and trust the Spirit to do what we never could.
“…the grace of God and the interior help of the Holy Spirit must precede and assist, moving the heart and turning it to God, opening the eyes of the mind…”Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum 5
“The way of Christ ‘leads to life’; a contrary way ‘leads to destruction.’”Catechism 1696
Your friends do not get it. Why leave the party early to make it to Mass? Why not fudge the numbers like everyone else does? Why forgive someone who never said sorry? Some days following Jesus feels like walking the wrong way down a crowded street. Chapter 43 is honest: this is “the unmatched Way understood by few.” Being misunderstood does not mean you are wrong. It may mean you are on the narrow road that leads to life, walking with the One who is the Way.
Try this today: Make one choice today that follows Jesus even if no one else understands it, and offer it to Him quietly.
Living the Chapter
The whole chapter, put into practice
This chapter challenges Christians to recognize the strength in gentleness, trust in the Spirit’s silent yet profound work, and live lives that reflect God’s influence without forcing change. It is a call to embrace faith in the invisible power of God and to allow His presence to shape their lives and actions in ways that defy human expectations.
Living Chapter 43 starts small: a softer answer, a quiet prayer before a hard conversation, an afternoon when we stop pushing and let God work. Each time, we make a little more room for the One who already lives within us.
And we never do it alone. The same Spirit who breathed on frightened disciples now breathes in us, wearing down what is hard, opening what is closed and teaching others through our lives in ways we may never see.
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.”
Galatians 5:25NRSVue
“All Christians by the example of their lives and the witness of their word, wherever they live, have an obligation to manifest the new man which they have put on in Baptism and to reveal the power of the Holy Spirit by whom they were strengthened at Confirmation.”Catechism 2472
“The Holy Spirit, whose anointing permeates our whole being, is the interior Master of Christian prayer. … it is the same Spirit acting in all and with all.”Catechism 2672
Your week may not hold one big moment of faith. It will hold dozens of small ones: the driver who cuts you off, the child who needs patience at bedtime, the friend who needs you to listen and not fix. Chapter 43 lives in those moments. Soften your answer. Breathe a prayer to the Spirit who lives in you. Step back and let God work. Let your kindness speak before your words do. Most of it no one will notice. God will, and over time, stone gives way to water.
Try this today: Tonight, look back on your day and thank the Holy Spirit for one moment when gentleness won.
RENEWAL
The Trinitarian M.A.P. is the method for RENEWAL, where God’s Love shapes our MINDSET, Trust in the Son directs our AIM, and Faith in the Holy Spirit guides our PRACTICE.
This chapter offers a new “Method” for the New Evangelization to RENEW our hearts and minds through the Trinitarian M.A.P. Bring this chapter into your day with the BFG Companion App. Pick Chapter 43 and an area of your life, and get Guidance made for you.
Renewal starts in the mind. Chapter 43 opens with a claim that goes against almost everything we are taught: “The softest things of the world overcome the hardest things of the world.” We are told to be loud, win the argument and never look weak. Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5, NRSVue). Meekness is not being a doormat. It is strength held in God’s hands. A renewed mind stops believing that the hardest voice always wins and starts trusting the gentle power of God.
Then the chapter turns our thoughts inward: “The formless Spirit which has no substance enters the body which has no opening.” If you are baptized, the Holy Spirit is not far away. He lives in you, even on the days you feel nothing at all. St. Paul asks, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit?” (1 Corinthians 6:19). So we learn to think like people who are never alone, because God is already at work within us, quietly, far more than we can see.
Try this: When you feel the urge to prove you are right today, pause and pray, “Holy Spirit, make me gentle,” then answer softly.
Matthew 5:5NRSVue “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20NRSVue “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.”
More Scripture: Proverbs 15:1 · Philippians 4:5
A renewed mind needs a direction. Chapter 43 says, “That is how I know the advantage of non-interfering action.” Our aim is not to control every outcome but to line up our will with God’s. At the Red Sea, Moses told a frightened people, “The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to keep still” (Exodus 14:14, NRSVue). We still do our part, but we aim at God’s will instead of our own plan, and we let Him lead the way.
The chapter also names where the road goes: “This is the unmatched Way understood by few.” The world aims at status, followers and winning. God’s Way aims lower, at humility and service, and higher, at eternal life. Jesus Himself is that Way (John 14:6). When others do not understand why we choose honesty over shortcuts or patience over pressure, we keep our eyes on Him. His Way is narrow, but it leads to life.
Try this: Before a decision today, ask, “Lord, what is Your will here?” and wait one quiet minute before you act.
Exodus 14:14NRSVue “The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.”
John 14:6NRSVue “Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.””
More Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6 · Isaiah 55:8-9
Renewal becomes real in daily life. Chapter 43 speaks of “the silent teaching without words.” Most of what we teach, we teach without speaking: how we treat the server who got our order wrong, how we talk about people who are not in the room, how we carry a bad day. Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). So we practice a life that preaches quietly.
Then the chapter adds, “The benefits of actions without interfering.” We practice stepping back: listening instead of lecturing, praying for someone instead of trying to fix them, doing our work honestly and leaving the results to God. Psalm 37:7 shows the posture: “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him.” Stillness is not giving up. It is giving God room, and the Holy Spirit does His best work in that room.
Try this: Do one kind thing today without saying a word about it, and let it be your silent prayer for that person.
Matthew 5:16NRSVue “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
Psalm 37:7NRSVue “Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.”
More Scripture: Isaiah 30:15 · James 2:17
In short: think humbly, aim at what is eternal, live by the Spirit. Let gentleness overcome what is hard, trust the Holy Spirit who lives within you, and let your quiet life teach the unmatched Way of Christ.
RESPOND
Renewal brings the transformation of our spirit with ardor, empowering us to RESPOND to the call of holiness and make disciples of all nations. This encourages meaningful dialogue to embrace shared truths that transcend cultural and religious boundaries.
Renewal does not end with us. The Spirit who enters “the body which has no opening” does not stay hidden inside; He moves us outward. Chapter 43 shows how He goes: not by force or noise, but the way water wears down stone. You do not have to win every argument or find perfect words. The softest things of the world still overcome the hardest, and the Spirit goes ahead of you.
In 1983, Saint John Paul II called the Church to an evangelization that is “new in its ardor, new in its methods, new in its expression.” The Gospel never changes. The way we carry it must be alive for our time. Chapter 43 shows why: a loud, angry world that trusts only force needs fresh words for the gentle power of the Holy Spirit.
Ardor is the fire of a heart that has been loved by God. People feel it before they hear a single word. Chapter 43 speaks of “the formless Spirit” who enters even closed hearts. The fire we carry is not our own; it is His presence living in us.
Use the words people use today: simple, honest and personal. Share your story, not a lecture. Chapter 43 honors “the silent teaching without words,” so let a kind act, a patient answer or a quiet presence say what a speech cannot.
Meet people where they are: on the phone in their hand. The BFG Handbook and the BFG Companion turn one conversation into a path to Christ and His Church. Chapter 43 praises “the advantage of non-interfering action.” Our tools do not push or pressure anyone; they leave room for the Spirit to do the work.
Use the words people use today: simple, honest and personal. Share your story, not a lecture. Chapter 43 honors “the silent teaching without words,” so let a kind act, a patient answer or a quiet presence say what a speech cannot.
What my life was like before I really met Jesus.
How He met me, and the moment things began to change.
What is different now, and the hope I carry. Like the chapter’s “softest things,” when did someone’s gentleness reach a hard place in you that no argument ever could?
Meet people where they are: on the phone in their hand. The BFG Handbook and the BFG Companion turn one conversation into a path to Christ and His Church. Chapter 43 praises “the advantage of non-interfering action.” Our tools do not push or pressure anyone; they leave room for the Spirit to do the work.
Every chapter has its own song and is written in a language people of every faith can understand. A doorway for dialogue. Chapter 43, Presence of the Holy Spirit, helps anyone who feels too weak to make a difference, or who is worn out from trying to force change alone.
A friend shares a struggle. Together, pick a chapter and an area of life (start with Chapter 43 when someone is tired of fighting, trying to fix the people they love, or wondering if God is really at work). In seconds: a reflection, the M.A.P., a saint, a prayer, Scripture, a song and a church nearby. Send it by email, PDF or a share link.
Hard question? Ask it together. Answers are grounded in Catholic teaching, the saints and the BFG Handbook. Talk or type. Try asking together: “How can being gentle ever be stronger than being tough?”
Pray the Rosary with a guided voice, the daily mysteries and beads that follow along. Pray it with someone, even over the phone. In the Rosary we stay close to Mary, whose quiet yes let the Holy Spirit do the impossible, a living picture of Chapter 43’s “non-interfering action.”
Catholic churches near anyone, with Mass and Confession times, directions, and one tap to add a time to the calendar. Every conversation can end at a church door. There, in the stillness before the tabernacle, Jesus Himself gives us “the silent teaching without words.”
Morning, midday and evening prayer reminders, a daily streak and a steady prayer rhythm help a new believer keep going. A gentle reminder, like water on stone: small, quiet and steady.
Free to start, no card needed. Read aloud in 48 languages.
One tool that walks with a person from the first question to the church door.
Jesus sent His apostles first to Jerusalem, then to Judea and Samaria, then to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Start where you are. Chapter 43 says the Spirit “enters the body which has no opening,” so even the most closed-off person near you is not out of God’s reach.
- Pray the Rosary together on Pray My Rosary.
- Bless your children at bedtime.
- Share a Guidance with a spouse or child who is struggling.
- Find Sunday Mass times together with Church Finder.
- Read Chapter 43 together and ask: “Where did a gentle answer work better than a loud one this week?”
- Text a verse from your Guidance.
- Ask, “How can I pray for you?” and pray right then.
- Invite a friend to Mass, then go for coffee.
- Send the line: “The softest things of the world overcome the hardest things of the world.”
- Be the calm, kind one.
- Pray on your lunch break with a reminder.
- Start a small chapter group that meets once a week. Begin with Chapter 43, Presence of the Holy Spirit.
- Respect the rules: invite, never push.
- Listen for the moment: “Things have been hard.”
- Offer: “Can I send you something that helped me?”
- Share the Chapter 43 song.
- Ask good questions and really listen.
- Share your three-part story.
- Open Ask BFG together when a question comes up.
- When a friend is exhausted from trying to change someone, share “the advantage of non-interfering action” and offer to pray with them.
- Visit the sick, the elderly and the lonely; pray the Rosary with them.
- Serve at a food bank.
- Welcome newcomers at Mass.
- Join your parish evangelization team.
- Ask shops, cafés and offices to display a BFG card with a QR code.
- Offer a short lunch talk on faith at work.
- Business owners: offer the Companion to staff as a free gift, never a requirement.
- Go where people already gather, and be the friendly one who listens.
- Pray quietly for the people around you.
- When a talk turns real, share a Guidance or the chapter song.
- Wear or carry a simple sign of your faith, like a cross or a rosary, that can start a conversation.
- At the gym or the park, notice how steady, quiet effort builds real strength; share that Chapter 43 says the softest things overcome the hardest.
- Host a Chapter 43 “Presence of the Holy Spirit” night, a Handbook chapter night, a Rosary night or an “Ask Anything” faith night.
- Show the Companion on a big screen and let people try it.
- We did this at our free conference, The New Evangelization in the Age of AI, at Christ Cathedral.
- Share a Guidance, a chapter song or a Scripture card. Try: “The softest things of the world overcome the hardest things of the world.”
- One post can reach someone you will never meet.
- Join a parish or diocese mission trip.
- The Companion speaks 48 languages, so you leave behind something that keeps speaking after you go home.
- Every culture knows that water wears down stone, a natural bridge to the gentle, unseen power of the Holy Spirit.
- Your parish ministries, the Legion of Mary, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Catholic Charities, prison, hospital and campus ministries, and mission groups.
- Bring the BFG tools to their work.
You may not see the results. Hearts soften slowly, the way rock gives way to water. But Chapter 43 promises that “the softest things of the world overcome the hardest things of the world.” Go gently. Go quietly. Go trusting. The same Spirit who renewed you now sends you, to teach without words and to let Him open the doors you never could.
Holy Spirit, gentle and unseen, Holy Spirit, set my heart on fire. Jesus, send me to the one You love. Father, make me Your witness today. Amen.
NRSVue © 2021 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.